Thisbookisaneditedversionofthelecturesdeliveredduringthe1stAegean SummerSchoolonCosmology, heldonSamosisland, Greece, inSeptember 21-29,2001, andorganizedjointlybytheDepartmentofMathematics, U- versity of the Aegean and the Department of Physics, National Technical UniversityofAthens. Cosmology, thescienceoftheuniverse, standsatthecrossroadsofmany ?eldsofphysicsandmathematicsandpresentsuswithchallengingproblems of many forms. Although there are by now many textbooks discussing the subjectatmanylevels, itistruethatnosinglebookhasthecharacteristics wehadinmindwheneditingthisvolume....

Thisbookisaneditedversionofthelecturesdeliveredduringthe1stAegean SummerSchoolonCosmology, heldonSamosisland, Greece, inSeptember 21-29,2001, andorganizedjointlybytheDepartmentofMathematics, U- versity of the Aegean and the Department of Physics, National Technical UniversityofAthens. Cosmology, thescienceoftheuniverse, standsatthecrossroadsofmany ?eldsofphysicsandmathematicsandpresentsuswithchallengingproblems of many forms. Although there are by now many textbooks discussing the subjectatmanylevels, itistruethatnosinglebookhasthecharacteristics wehadinmindwheneditingthisvolume....